The Norfolk Tides emphatically ended a five-game losing streak, zooming past Lehigh Valley 14-8 Saturday night before 10,100 at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Three Tides who have briefly appeared this year for the Baltimore Orioles drove in four runs apiece: Connor Norby, Heston Kjerstad and Kyle Stowers. Norby scored three runs and belted a three-run homer in the sixth. Kjerstad and Stowers each homered among two hits and scored twice.
Billy Cook and Maverick Handley added two hits each among Norfolk’s 12.
The night’s biggest drawback for Baltimore fans was the ineffectiveness of Dean Kremer, who was making a rehabilitation start. He gave up five earned runs, five hits and a walk and got just two outs with his 39 pitches.
Tucker Davidson pitched five innings for the win and struck out five, though he gave up three runs and three hits. Fellow Norfolk relievers Nolan Hoffman (2 1/3 innings) and Morgan McSweeney (one inning) gave up a hit each but no runs.
The IronPigs (33-39) still have a 4-1 lead in the six-game series, which concludes with a 1:35 p.m. Sunday contest.
The Tides’ bullpen had coughed up leads in the previous two games, but Norfolk (36-38) scored 12 consecutive runs to build a virtually insurmountable 14-5 edge before yielding three runs in the eighth inning.
Kody Clemens and Ruben Cardenas hit home runs for Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia’s top affiliate. Scott Kingery was ejected in the seventh inning.
